Ignition
by Crescenta
Summary: They needed him, he thought. And maybe, deep down, he believed he needed them too. —Green, Gold, Sapphire, Pearl, Black
1. In Which Green Resigns

**It's been years since I last posted anything, but here I am again, writing for a fandom I've loved since I was little.**

 **I've been writing this story in my spare time and at first, I didn't think I'd be publishing it. But time went by, I found out there was a mobile app of this site, and things just kind of happened.**

 **I've loved the Fire Pokedex Holders since the FRLG chapter and I've always found it great how Green seemed to be the only dexholder of the known ones who was the less visibly fiery one. And since I've only ever read one good firedex story ("Hide the Guns" by ibuberu), I thought I'd write one myself.**

 **For reference, their ages are Green (24), Gold (21), Sapphire (20), Pearl (18), Black (17)**

* * *

He did not necessarily hate that they stayed. Although he wouldn't admit it, he rarely received visitors so having company once in a while couldn't hurt him, no matter how loud or obnoxious. Then again, he did not necessarily want this either. He heard their pleas, their reasonings, and though they were weak and uncompelling he ended up agreeing anyway. Maybe deep down he really did want this, but he wasn't so sure as to why he would.

It had been a long day for Green. With the Indigo Conference coming up in a month, it meant that trainers were going to cram their time and try to collect the rest of their badges since its a prerequisite to enter the league. With him being the gym leader of Viridian City, and notoriously the one who was the toughest to beat, he's had to hold battle right after battle in the last couple of days. It even came to having to extend gym hours just to accommodate the number of trainers coming in.

Green wouldn't call himself a workaholic (though his housemates always thought otherwise) but he did believe in following a schedule. Usually, that schedule would be manageable, he had been used to this type of work for nearly ten years now anyway.

It was so simple. Wake up, eat breakfast, shower, check his mail, do some warm-ups with his team, do some gym battles, have lunch, more gym battles, a daily call to the different regions, another daily call to his demanding girlfriend, the last batch of gym battles, dinner, then go to bed.

Of course, that flew right out the window. Well, most of it did.

Because of all the incoming trainers, Green found no time to eat on some days. There were times where he didn't shower even. It had become that hectic. He even had to miss calling his girlfriend a few times, which of course only resulted in having to hear her talk his ear off in the middle of the night instead.

He always found time to do the round of calls to the other regions despite it all. He just couldn't afford to miss them.

Green was thankful though that the battle in front of him was starting to come to a close.

The girl that stood opposite on the trainer box called out to her Pokemon—Girafarig—and ordered another Psychic attack. Green mimicked her, his Golduck delivering his own.

While the two Pokemon had a battle of the minds, Green glanced at the clock just above the door right behind the girl. _10:16 pm_. He grunted to himself. He promised he would cook dinner today.

"Golduck, stop and use Hydro Pump." Green needed the match to finish, with him winning or not. Just as the blue Pokemon pulled back the opposing trainer raised her arm.

"Quick, Thunder!" A look of surprise washed over Green's face as electricity sparked all over Girafarig's body before a sudden thunderous burst directly hit Golduck. His Pokemon fell to the ground.

Two.

Five.

Nine.

After ten seconds had passed, Green pulled out a Pokeball and returned his Pokemon. "Thank you, Golduck."

When he looked over to the trainer, her eyes were buzzing with pride. She let out a big breath and ran to hug her partner. "We did it! We actually did it!"

"Congratulations." Green walked over to his winning opponent and pulled out a badge from in his pocket and handed it to her. "Here is the earth badge. You deserve it. I honestly did not expect that your Girafarig knew an Electric move like that."

The girl accepted then pinned her reward on the inside of her jacket. Green noticed she had seven other badges before he gave her the last one. "Yeah, I'm glad I kept it a secret. I would have lost without it, honestly."

Green hummed, absentmindedly agreeing. He was drained, mentally and physically, and was frankly not in the mood to talk. Without missing a beat he moved past her and opened the door to the gym himself. "I apologize for being so blunt but it is getting late."

"Right, of course." She returned her Pokemon and thanked Green again before taking her leave. Green closed the door behind her and began locking up. As he was shutting off the lights over the battlefield, he glanced once more at the time.

 _10:38 pm._

Green wondered if they were still even awake at this time.

When he walked upstairs and into the kitchen, he was greeted by the gaze of four pairs of eyes.

"You're late." Green sighed to himself.

"I know. There was a trainer." He took a seat at the counter, facing all four of his housemates.

He wasn't sure if that was an appropriate word to describe them though. They lived in the Viridian Gym with him, sure, but they weren't technically relatives nor did they lay a dime to pay any of the bills that kept the place running. Calling them housemates was too generous. Too kind.

"There's always a trainer." One of them pouted. His bright orange eyes bore through Green but the gym leader remained unaffected. "I mean I get it, it's your job. But you promised today."

"I know, Pearl," Green repeated and ran his fingers through his greasy hair. He hadn't showered today. "I can still cook something. Whatever you guys want."

"That isn't the problem! Besides, we told you we were cooking tonight." The only female amongst the four countered. Despite raising her voice she soon relaxed her shoulders and slouched. "When you celebrate an anniversary, the celebrant does not cook the feast."

Green's lips formed a thin line. He had been opposed to even acknowledging this day. Not that he had anything against today, personally. It's just that he didn't see the sense in throwing a party for the day he was appointed gym leader. It was like celebrating the day you got a job annually, which is a waste of time and money. But they urged, pleaded, and begged that they celebrate this together because they knew Green would be going to the Sevii Islands on his birthday.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I'll make it up to all of you one day." He hesitated for a minute before adding. "I promise."

All four exchanged curious glances then gathered around and hunched into a small circle. Their whispers filled the air as they quickly discussed their options. Green could have easily heard what they were saying if he wasn't running on about four hours of sleep. What they thought was 'whispering' was always just quiet yelling to Green.

Then they finally broke off and faced him again. The youngest of the four opened his mouth to speak. "Alright, we've decided to forgive you for your transgression and accept your terms."

Green nodded and was ready to just get the night over with and eat until his immediate junior slammed his hand to the counter. He flinched at the sudden sound and mildly glared at the golden-eyed boy.

"However! We have also already decided how exactly you will make it up to us." Green sighed, his head slightly falling.

"That's good Gold, but could we possibly discuss this later in the morning instead?"

"We could, but I think it would be better to give you a head's up now, just to be fair," Pearl said a knowing smile was growing on his peachy face. Green narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What do you mean by that?" He turned to the girl, of whom he knew was the worst at keeping things vague and secret. "Sapphire?"

Just as he thought, Sapphire gave him a toothy grin. "Green Oak, current gym leader of Viridian City and Kanto Dex Holder, we would like for you to take a day off."

Green blinked. Was that all? He had to admit, that announcement was a tad bit anticlimactic. He honestly believed they would ask him to do something he never would've let them do like throw a party at his place or run the Viridian City gym themselves. He was ready to accept, even comment about how this had been the tamest request they had presented him ever since they formed this group of theirs until a few things came into mind.

He wondered what would happen should he take a day off. Usually 'day offs' meant no mention or semblance of work being done and though it isn't necessarily a strict condition for it, he knew the four that stood before him definitely had plans for that. He couldn't afford not answering his mail. He was waiting on an email from Lance regarding a few changes on the Indigo Conference as well as an email that confirmed for the shipment of more earth badges, among other things. Then there was the paperwork that would have to be written, filed, and sent tonight to the Pokemon League Association regarding the sudden day off which in turn he had to wait for their reply for the green light and…

Green let out a tired breath. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. It's too much work."

"Uh, I think you have the wrong idea as to what a 'day off' is, Green." Gold pointed out, leaning on the counter with just an elbow. "It means no work, at all."

"I meant having to issue a day off. It's easier said than done. You can't just decide to not work one day without doing a few things prior."

"Well, that's a little ironic… and very hypocritical of you." The Unovan rested his head on his hand, staring at his senior.

"What makes you say so, Black?" Sapphire asked, curious and clueless as to why.

Black did not avert his eyes when he answered her question. "You complain that it will take too much work to file a day off and yet for the past several weeks you've been working your butt off day and night. I just find that a little funny."

Green watched as his junior's lips curl into a smirk and he couldn't help but admit to himself that he had a point. However, he still couldn't afford to do nothing tomorrow.

"I wouldn't exactly pin it as a complaint, and I understand your argument here, but I just can't afford to-"

"You promised." Sapphire's voice suddenly squeaked out, which made his head turn to her. Her blue eyes looked sad and expectant, her fingers curled inward to form fists that lay on the counter. Her knuckles started to pale.

Green considered himself a good reader and not just when it came to written texts. She looked upset, if not getting there at least. He partially hated it when she did that. Sometimes he couldn't tell if she was faking it or not, but she always used it to get what she wanted. He also hated how it was so easy for him to bend when she did. He knew promising it would bite him in the end.

He gave it a thought again, then another and, despite still thinking how much he didn't want this, he gave in.

"Fine."

"Fine?" Gold leaned towards him, moving his ear closer.

"Yes, fine. I will take a day off tomorrow." Grins spread across their faces and without a care of how late it was, the four of them began rejoicing loudly, as if they had just won the lottery. Green exhaled and leaned his head to his hand. Despite how tired he was, he managed a small smile.


	2. In Which Gold is Burnt

He dreamt about his parents.

Their eyes. Their voices. The feeling of his mother cupping his cheek. The way his father ruffled his hair. The deafening screech of the tire. The ringing in his head. The taste of iron in his mouth. The cold touch of their fingers brushing over his skin for the last time.

It all came in fragments and as it did he felt the fear rising in his throat. He clawed, reaching for air as he tried to let the scream out, to let it all out.

Then he woke up.

Green opened his eyes and felt the dampness of his shirt. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and gasped for some air, rolling to his side. It had been a while since he dreamt about them, about anything. He glanced at the clock on his bedside.

 _9:23 am._

In a second he launched himself upright then straight out of bed. He muttered a curse and went for his closet, pulling his shirt off of him as he did. He couldn't believe he overslept. He definitely had a long line of trainers waiting for him outside the gym by now.

When he had a clean shirt on him he headed for the door and swung it open, only to find Pearl standing right behind it. His hand was raised and looked just about to knock.

"Pearl, what are you…" Green breathed heavily, briefly remembering his dream. Then he caught himself and slowly recovered. "What is it?"

"I was going to call you to come down for some late breakfast." The Sinnoan explained, his eyes darting up and down his senior. "Why does it look like you fell out of bed?"

"I didn't." He felt worse, honestly. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"Why would we?" Pearl answered back. "You needed the sleep. They wanted to wake you even later, but I argued you probably wouldn't appreciate sleeping in completely. It turns out I didn't even have to come up here."

Green stared for a second, confused until it finally hit him. He remembered the agreement he made with them last night, the multitude of phone calls and emails he had to send to people, and the way the four of them almost carried him to his room to go and sleep already. Green pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Right. Of course." He dragged his hand down his face and exhaled then set his eyes on the blond. "You sent all the emails?"

"Sent and approved." Pearl fished his phone from his pocket and flashed Green a screenshot of the reply from the PLA.

"Okay, thank you." Green nodded and took a step out of his room. "Let's have breakfast."

"Sure but, uh, Green?" Pearl pointed a finger downwards and Green looked down to see his bare legs. "Maybe put some pants on."

In his hurry he had tossed on a clean shirt and was ready to leave just wearing his boxers. The tip of his ears warmed up but otherwise, he remained collected. "Yeah. Give me five minutes."

Now fully dressed, he walked down the stairs and was greeted with a powerful aroma. He entered his dining room and on the table lay platters of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausages. He absentmindedly licked his lips and tried to contain the growl in his stomach.

"Good morning!" Gold greeted in a sing-song voice, entering the room with a plate of fried rice. "Well if it isn't our lovely senior! How you feelin' Sleeping Beauty?"

Green only raised a brow at him, looking unamused as he took a seat at the head of the table, yet Gold only laughed heartily at the response.

"Oh lighten up man! This is your first day off in, what? Two, three weeks? It wouldn't kill you to laugh a little."

"I would laugh if any of what you said was funny."

"Ooh!" Pearl entered as well, carrying french toast with him. "That must've hurt really bad considering how much you think yourself humorous."

"What's this I hear about hurting Gold's ever-inflating ego?" Black followed right after, a pitcher of orange juice in his hands.

"Oh har har." Gold placed his platter down and plopped into a chair on Green's right. "Yes let's make fun of the handsome guy. You know you're all just jealous of my devastatingly good looks and fun personality right?"

"Hey, what'cha talking 'bout senior Red for?" Sapphire was the last to leave the kitchen, a look of innocent curiosity on her face. Gold grunted. Black and Pearl burst out in laughter. Green couldn't help but smile.

Sapphire then placed a blue mug in front of him and sat on his left and beside Black. Green took a sip of his coffee after thanking the girl and felt a warmth spread over him afterward.

He sighed with content. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had an actual proper cup, let alone one as good as what he was drinking.

Once the laughter and banter died down, Pearl cleared his throat. "Anyway, while we eat breakfast we're gonna discuss your day off plans."

"Plans?" Green asked, taking another sip of the wonderful brew.

"Yes. Although it'd been fine to just let you sleep and do nothing the whole day, we all thought it'd be better if we all went out and did something we wouldn't normally be able to do when you're busy." The blond explained and Green nodded in understanding. Though he would've loved to stay someplace quiet and read a book.

"We were thinking of something fun but not too exhausting. I mean the whole point is for you to unwind after all." Black told him whilst chewing on his bacon. Green gave him a stern look and the Unovan swallowed and quietly apologized. "We made a list of things to do, so all you need to do is choose!"

Pearl took his phone out again and handed it over to Green. He put his mug down and looked over his options.

Fun at the carnival, watch a 3D movie, fireworks at Vermillion Bay, hiking on Mt. Moon, a day at the Game Corner, visit the Safari Zone, perform at a contest in Viridian City, beach day on Cinnabar Island, trip to the Pewter City museum.

He had to admit, these were some fairly tame suggestions that they had given him. He eyed each of his four juniors as they hungrily ate their breakfast. Green wondered if there was a catch to any of this. If they had a hidden plan underneath it all.

He cleared his throat, catching their attention once more. "A trip to the museum sounds peaceful."

Gold's eyes widened and the blond beside him started smiling slowly. "Excuse me, what?" He turned to the Sinnoan. "I thought we agreed not to add that, it's too boring!"

"Well, only you agreed on the Game Corner and yet its still on the list. Besides! Green liked it." Pearl's smile evolved into a smirk which only made the older man growl.

"Oh come on Pearl! We may not have liked Gold's idea but that was still pretty underhanded of you." Black added and Pearl was silent for a second before leaning back against his chair, looking resigned.

"I'm guessing I have to choose another." Green looked back down at the phone. It wasn't a total shame. He'd been to that same museum well over four times. He'd thought they'd enjoy it though.

"Ohh I hope you pick what I came up with." Sapphire hummed as she took a large bite out of her pancake slice.

"And which would that be, I wonder."

"Take a wild guess," Pearl mumbled, still upset over the overruling of his idea.

Hiking and a trip to the Safari Zone were surely made by the outdoorsy girl, if not her then by the Unovan on her left. Then again, one of the options on the list did leave him curious.

"Were you the one who suggested we join a contest?" Just as he asked Sapphire choked on her pancake slice. Green patiently waited for her to finish downing her glass of juice and for her answer.

"Me? Suggest a _contest_? That's dumb. That's _stupid_. Why would I—how dare you…!" Green only slowly raised his brow at her fumbling and watched as the tips of her ears started burning red. He glanced at the other three, who were all suddenly overrun by silence and deep concentration over their plates.

"Calm down, Sapphire." Clearly she had an ulterior motive for that suggestion. Green wondered to himself about why the Hoenn dex holder chose to participate in a contest in Kanto. Maybe he just needed an excuse to see her. Maybe she actually wanted to see him. He took a sip of his coffee. "Fireworks doesn't seem too bad."

"Great! We can do that!" Sapphire agreed way too quickly, her cheeks still pinkish. The boys ignored the sudden outburst, either out of respect or from how used to it they were.

"But that's a night time thing, so we still need to decide what to do before that." Pearl pointed out.

Green nodded. "Staying at the beach could do."

"Then it's settled! A beach day we shall have!" Black announced, pumping his fist in the air. He might've been the one to suggest it.

"But wait, Cinnabar Island is a ways away from Vermillion. Will we have enough time to make it to the fireworks though?" Pearl argued, calculating the variables in his head. "Not to mention, we'd probably be a little tired to go all the way across."

"Tired? I think we can handle it!" Black responded. Pearl pursed his lips in uncertainty.

"Yeah I think that too but I'm talking about senior Green."

"Well, I wouldn't mind really." His answer seemed to surprise them since their eyes grew big at the positive response he gave. He remained undeterred by their expressions. "It'll only be a boat ride away."

"Alright then." Gold's mouth formed into one of his mischievous grins and he stood to loop an arm over his shoulder. "Damn, Green! You sure are compliant today. Blue must've thoroughly whipped you for you to be like this."

Green didn't even lift a finger when a slipper went flying and hit the Johtoan square on the face. Sapphire sat back down her chair, an animalistic growl forming at her throat and the flush of pink returning to her cheeks.

"You're disgusting." She hissed, arms crossed and glaring daggers at her immediate senior.

"What's new?" Pearl added nonchalantly, finishing the rest of his plate. Gold rubbed his nose and tossed the single footwear out the open window behind him. Sapphire stood up, yelling at him. Black tried sustaining the laughter that built up in his stomach. Pearl rolled his eyes and tried to keep them from devolving into a full-on fight.

Green leaned against his chair and watched the scene unfold before him. He reached for his mug, narrowly avoiding the girl's swipe of her jagged nails, and took another sip.

 _Hm_ , he hummed in thought, _what a good cup of coffee._

* * *

 **I love Pokemon Special so much for how it gives its characters a past and story, but it doesn't usually do so with all of them. We know about Blue and Silver's hardships under the Mask of Ice and how Crystal suffered injuries on her arms when she was younger.**

 **I wanted to give Green a past or at the very least some (dead) parents. You know how I love my angst.**


	3. In Which Black Steals Things

**This chapter wasn't supposed to be as long as it is but fuck if I had a lot of ideas just pop in while I wrote. Next chapter will hopefully be shorter, but no promises will be made here.**

* * *

"Come on, hurry up! We only have today!" Black yelled from inside the car, the volume of his voice canceling the need to use the horn on the steering wheel.

While he sat at the passenger's seat, Sapphire had comfortably made a spot for herself in the back. She buried her attention under a pamphlet about Cinnabar Island, her eyes scanning the pictures of its white sandy beaches.

The trunk door slammed down, essentially keeping the contents at the back from falling. Pearl exhaled. "Would have gotten it done faster if _someone_ helped me."

Green locked up the door behind him then pocketed the key to the gym before making his way to the car. It only took them an hour to get ready, and most of the time was spent on Green packing his things since the other four were all set right after breakfast. He found it very odd just how organized they'd become that it was almost suspicious.

Gold stood by the driver's seat, leaning against the door while Green took out his keys. When he finally had it in his hand the Johtoan snatched it.

"Ah, ah! I'm driving."

"Absolutely not," Green answered without hesitation, reaching for his keys back.

"It's your day off! Let _us_ serve _you_." For emphasis, Gold moved his free hand to point to himself and then to the gym leader. Green didn't back down, only stared at his junior sternly. They stayed like that for almost a full minute until it was interrupted by Pearl slamming the back seat door shut.

"Just give him the keys, Gold. We're trying to get him to relax not give him a heart attack."

Gold grumbled at the jab over his driving skills then dropped the keys back into Green's open palm. "Fine. But I swear one day I will get to drive this car." He gave Green a smirk that made the older man feel a pang of uneasiness in his stomach before he went around and sat beside Sapphire. Once everyone was settled he turned on the engine and made his way to the docks in Pallet Town.

The four wasted no time talking about what to do at the beach and what to have for lunch, despite only eating a hefty breakfast just hours ago. As per usual, Green drowned out their loudness, focusing on the road and the faint sound of piano music he had tuned in on the radio. His attention was caught however upon seeing a familiar face on the road.

He slowed the car, causing all four to stop their lively conversation to see what was happening. Green rolled down his window.

"Hey, Gramps." He greeted the old man, who was, in turn, surprised to see him.

"Green! Oh my… you startled me, my boy." He let out a hearty laugh which triggered a soft smile on his grandson's face.

"Good morning, Professor Oak!" Gold greeted, the window on Pearl's side was rolled down as well.

"Well if it isn't the foreign Pokedex holders! I heard you four were staying at my grandson's, I didn't think you'd still be here after so long." Green shared the same thoughts. He was about to voice them when Black quickly waved his hand.

"Well, Kanto is amazing! It's so much warmer than all the other regions! Like sure Unova's got Undella Town and Humilau City but they're always so jam-packed with people it's hard to really appreciate the beaches there. It's nice to take a break from all this adventuring so we're heading to the beach at Cinnabar Island today! I finally get to have some real fun and I wouldn't have picked a better senior to spend this time with."

It didn't surprise Green to hear his youngest junior compliment him. Ever since they've met at Mt. Silver along with the others Black had been nonstop with all the, for lack of a better term, 'fanboying'. What did surprise him was when Black placed a hand on his arm and smiled at him sincerely. Green's lips parted to speak, to thank him for his words, but all he did was nod.

"The beach you say? My, Green. When was the last time you've spent time at the beach?" His fingers drummed against the steering wheel as he stared at his grandfather's wrinkled face, thinking back to a time when he did.

"Three, maybe four years—"

"Four years ago?!" Sapphire exclaimed.

"Four years old." He corrected which then elicited gasps from all of his passengers. Professor Oak laughed and patted the arm Green had leaning out the window.

"Well, it's about time you visited today! I hear the waves will be perfect for surfboarding."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Gold smacked the headrest in front of him and grinned. "Let's get our beach on already!"

"Goodbye Professor Oak," Pearl said, "it was a pleasure meeting you again."

"The pleasure is all mine. Have fun at the beach and do stay careful."

"We will Gramps." They exchanged goodbyes and Green was on his way again. Once out of earshot from the professor his four companions started screaming.

"Four years old?! You were four years old when you last went to the beach?" Black seemed the most surprised, especially right after his whole spiel about beaches. Green figured he must've been extra peeved too seeing as Black suggested the activity in the first place.

"I was busy." They all groaned at his answer. Green glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that the three in the back were glaring at him.

"Here we go again with the 'busy'. What made you so busy in the next six or seven years that you couldn't even stop to, I don't know, sit down and just look at the ocean?" Pearl asked indignantly.

"I was busy learning to be a good trainer."

"Well, you sure are the embodiment of the title the professor gave you." Black crossed his arms.

Green raised his brow. "That's what titles are for."

"Alright, so you trained really hard until you were the Indigo League Champion for a while and then a Gym Leader, so that worked out really good for you." Gold listed, bringing his fingers out with each point. "But you can't seriously tell me you haven't gone on a vacation or anything since then. I mean hasn't the professor taken you out?"

"He's busy too."

"Okay fine, the guy invented the Pokedex, I'll give you that. But what about your sister? Your parents? Ever spent time with them?" Green stared straight ahead as he didn't answer. He didn't know if he should. Or if he even wanted to. Should he tell them? Did they even know to begin with? He felt their eyes drilling against him and suddenly the dream from last night started to resurface.

"Green?" He stepped on the brake a little too roughly, catching all of them by surprise. When he focused his vision he saw that they were already parked by the docks. He glanced at the mirror again, for a moment meeting Sapphire's blue eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak. Have his lips been dry this whole time? "Sorry. Let me just grab a parking ticket. You guys go ahead."

Green killed the engine and left the car and the four inside of it.

* * *

"Do you think we went too far?" Gold asked, his chin resting on the palm of his hand as he sat cross-legged on a wooden bench. Black, who was sitting beside him, looked at him incredulously.

"You _think_?"

"And what do you mean 'we'? You're the only one who asked about his parents, we just wanted to know if he's always been a stick in the mud!" Sapphire smacked his arm, causing his head to fall and hit the side of the bench.

"Ow! Damn, woman! You don't have to be violent about it. How the hell does Ruby put up with you?" Her hand was already poised to strike again when Black grabbed her from behind and pulled her away.

"Calm down, Sapphire! Let's not upset senior Green even more when Pearl comes back with him!"

"Too late." The three turned to see Green and Pearl just at the entrance of the waiting area. Black let go of Sapphire and stood straight while she dusted herself off and snarled at Gold before smiling at them innocently. Gold gave Pearl a look, hoping to get some backup over the Hoenn girl that clearly threatened him.

Pearl pinched the bridge of his nose. They were certainly so much more work than both of his best friends combined. He then nudged his head to the man standing beside him and gave Gold one stern look.

He at least caught on to the message and stood up. "Uh, hey Green. About a while ago in the car, I honestly didn't mean to—"

"It's fine, Gold." His eyes held their serious gaze, as always, but they could tell there was no anger in them. They tried to search for any hints of sadness, maybe a bit of red in his eyes, or even the slightest bit of a sniffle. There was nothing at all, just the look that they were done with the issue now. "We better get going. Pearl?"

He stood stunned for a second, distracted in the midst of thinking, and then pulled something out of his pocket. "Yeah, I got the tickets right here."

"Good, let's go." He passed by them, bags in tow, and towards the boat's entrance. The rest of them scrambled to follow and Sapphire whispered to Pearl as they walked.

"What happened when you found him?"

"H-he found _me_ actually. I was buying our tickets when he showed up and paid for them instead." Pearl raised a finger when she was just about to say something. "Yeah, I know, we agreed to pay for the expenses but he insisted. I don't know if it would upset him if I didn't let him do it. He radiated alpha male vibes the moment I met him, Sapph, I am not fighting against that in a non-Pokemon battle."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Fine, I'll talk to Green. Just keep Gold away from him for now, would ya?"

"That'll be easy." He smirked. "I heard they have an open bar."

* * *

Once they were on board and had their bags loaded in storage, Green excused himself to the upper deck. He allowed them to roam the boat to find something to occupy themselves for the thirty-minute ride to the island. He was a little suspicious at first when Pearl insisted Gold join him and was even more so when he heard the Sinnoan mention 'free drinks' but decided to let it go for now.

He stood against the boat's railings, staring into the ocean. The upper deck wasn't exactly quiet. It was riddled with foreign tourists and normally Green would find someplace a little less crowded but he needed the air.

He thought about what Gold said in the car and how irrational it was of him to storm out and leave them to their confusion. It wasn't like he was offended by it. It was more of how it freaked him out, considering he _just_ dreamt about them. Green never usually thought about his parents. Not even when he was alone. He was young. They died young. It was all an unfortunate accident in the rain. He understood at the tender age of four that he needed to grow up right away. There wasn't anything wrong with that.

"Hey." He turned his head and saw Sapphire walk up to him. He softened his eyes in acknowledgment.

"I thought you'd be roaming the boat with Black."

"I was but then we found out this place had a library and I left him in there." She shrugged and Green raised his brow.

"Black? Really?"

Sapphire waved her hand around, quickly trying to dismiss it. "Yeah, he loves them books. Every other day he'd go out to Viridian's library too. The kid likes readin' I guess."

 _I didn't know that_ , Green thought. Had he really been that busy? He noticed the Unovan leave the gym a few times but he always thought he was out looking for a battle. Sapphire inhaled deeply and let out a refreshed breath of air.

"I love the ocean." She stretched her arms and legs, taking the view in completely. "I love being around nature. It's so open and fresh. Back home Papa used to take me on his friend's fishing boat and then we'd sail around not really going anywhere. And we wouldn't worry about gettin' lost because his friend was an expert and I was pretty good on the sea too.

"His friend would teach us how to fish, sometimes I played with his Wingull, sometimes I'd even go swimming into the ocean myself. That's how I met Walo actually, back when he was still a Wailmer that is. Papa always got nervous because he wasn't the best swimmer, so he had to put his entire faith in me to be careful. He's a pretty good dad."

"Do you miss him?" Green found himself asking.

"I do." She paused for a second. "Do you miss them?"

He didn't answer her. Green appreciated the kind gesture she was trying to do but knew the real reason she came out to join him here. Sapphire was a lot more clever than she had others to believe.

"I'm alright, you know. Really." The concern remained in her gaze and a more visible smile from him relaxed the knot on her brows. "Thank you, Sapphire."

He knew she would've wanted to do more to lift his spirits—one that would probably reach her own, should it be even possible—but talking with her would be enough for the time being.

"Hey, no problem. We're a team after all! All five of us together. We can't be a fiery passionate team with a gloomy leader!" She patted his back hard once, which almost smacked the air right out of his lungs, but then she gingerly rested her hand on his shoulder. "Can't have the best of us feelin' down on his day off."

The loud horn from the ship interrupted their conversation and a voice from the speaker announced their arrival to everyone on board. Sapphire returned to her regular self, gushing over her excitement to spend the day surfing and building sand castles. Green found it amusing how it reminded him of when she was still thirteen.

"There you guys are!" Just as the ship approached the harbor, the remaining members of their group finally arrived at the docks. Black was holding a paper bag looking pleased with himself while Gold waved at them, an arm around Pearl's waist.

Green straightened up from the groggy look on the blond's face and the waft of alcohol in the air. "Gold, what did you do?"

"Hey don't look at me! This guy wanted to go to the open bar and I mean, I'm not one to reject an offer to drink, but then he started challenging me and I warned him that it takes a lot to send me over and… well, you can figure out the rest." He explained and Pearl groaned, a hand to his face.

"I should've known. Why didn't I _know_?" Pearl cried out and slowly dragged his hand away, showing everyone the redness of his nose. Both Black and Sapphire stifled their laughter.

Green approached Pearl and brushed the hair out of his face. "We'll get you some juice so you can sober up okay?."

"Great. Juice. Love it."

* * *

After getting Pearl a juice drink from a local stand the group finally made it to the beach. It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon so there weren't a ton of people around. Green gave the others a chance to change into swim gear while he began laying down their towels and umbrellas. It took him little effort to convince them he was fine with the small amount of work due to their clear excitement.

Once he was done unpacking, he leaned back into the lounge chair that he brought and pulled out a book from his bag.

"Ocean time!" He looked up from his page to watch his four companions run towards the clear waves and start enjoying themselves. Green paused from his reading to watch them. He thought about what they said in the car before Gold even mentioned the topic of his parentage. He admitted, he didn't have a normal childhood. But it was only because he had to learn to take care of himself pretty quickly. His grandfather was busy—he was still creating the Pokedex when Green was a child—and his sister spent her time preparing to get a medical degree even when she was only five years older than him. He missed a lot of the 'fun stuff', as they would probably put it. He thought that maybe it wasn't too late for him.

Just as he was about to shut his book Gold approached their little camp already drenched with ocean water. Green instinctively picked up and handed him a towel.

"Done already?"

"Nah, just taking a break. Sapph and Black challenged some swimmers to a Pokemon battle and I did not want to be in the middle of what's to come." He nudged his head towards them, a huge grin plastered over his face. When Green turned to watch from afar he made out Black's Carracosta, a Vaporeon, and a Seaking. Then a deep rumble echoed throughout the beach, effectively silencing every human being in the area, and Sapphire hollered in excitement as she was lifted up into the air on the back of an enormous Wailord.

Green would've been surprised were he in different circumstances—like say he had never met the four—but at this point, he had expected nothing less.

"Those are some poor bastards, let me tell you." Gold laughed while drying his face. "You got any plans on joining us?"

"In a bit. I'd like to finish this chapter first."

"You sure are taking your sweet time." Green shrugged and flipped through his book once again. Silence became of them as he tried to concentrate on the text while the sound of disgruntled yells and excited shouts played in the background.

Gold tapped his fingers on his knee. "I kind of get it. The whole not wanting to talk about your parents deal."

Green stopped and looked at his junior, who kept his gaze forward. His eyes were a little more serious than they normally were.

"Believe me I… I wouldn't talk about my dad either if someone asked." The hesitance in the Johtoan's voice was very unlike him but Green kept quiet. "But clearly I brought up some bad stuff with you and I'm starting to feel like shit what with you not being pissed at me about it. So I'm letting you get back at me by asking _one_ question."

"Gold you don't have to—"

"Nope. I did a dick move. Just let me have it, Green." He turned to him this time, his face creased with nervousness. Green didn't want to subject him to what was clearly a sensitive topic. He's kept it to him for so long after all.

Green remained quiet, staring. His eyes were enough to tell his friend that he wouldn't pry, no matter how much he begged. Gold exclaimed his frustration loudly and fell back unto the towel.

"Come on! Ease my guilt a little!"

"I told you it was fine. I'm not mad at you or the others. It was an honest mistake. I'm not going to make you uncomfortable just because you feel guilty."

They grew quiet again. Green gave him some time to think while he watched the rest of his group. Pearl was off to the side focused on a growing sand castle. His Dugtrio kept popping out of the ground, pushing more sand into the pile next to its trainer.

"You're a great guy, Green."

"Pardon?"

Gold sat back up and placed a hand on Green's shoulder. "Even when you shouldn't be, you are. I hear you get a lot of bad rep for being pretty strict and stoic but you're really cool. Maybe even cooler than senior Red. Don't tell him though."

Green wasn't sure what to respond to that. It wasn't that Gold was never sincere, it was just that he rarely ever complimented him with an aura of seriousness or one almost of… finality.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Pearl yelled loudly.

"I WAS WORKING ON THAT!" The blond was drenched from top to bottom and beside him were the wet remnants of his sand castle. Beyond him were Black and Sapphire rejoicing their victory atop the latter's Wailord.

"Hey, you two! What are ya doin' sitting like a buncha old men! Get in 'ere!" Sapphire bellowed from the distance, her hand waving the two over.

"Yeah! The water is—" Black jumped off the Pokemon and cannonballed into the water, emerging right after, "—great!"

"Well, you heard them Green." Gold stood, letting the towel around his neck fall to the ground. "A beach day wouldn't be complete if I don't dunk your head in the water at least once."

Green raised his brow but wasn't at the least bit negative about it. He shut his book and grabbed the surfboard that lay beside him. Gold's eyes gleamed, hungry for a challenge.

It'd been a while since he showed off. Wouldn't hurt to teach them a thing or two about calling him old.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon at the beach rolled by quicker than expected. After showing his juniors up in a small surfboard competition they stopped by at a shack that sold grilled meat and barbecue before returning to the ocean with their Pokemon.

Before he knew it, it was already five o'clock and the sun was starting to set. The group began packing up their things all the while still raving about their day.

"I still can't believe your Wailord showed up like that. I thought you were going to _literally_ destroy those trainers a while ago!" Black exclaimed, stuffing their towels in a bag.

"How on earth did he even get here? Did you withdraw him from the Pokemon Center while we weren't looking?" Pearl asked.

"I don't keep Walo in a ball! That big boy deserves to be roamin' free in the ocean!" Sapphire huffed, still wringing out the water from her hair. "Plus he loves me! Him traveling to Kanto from Hoenn is just a symbol of his love!"

While Green picked up his bag he noticed a book lying across the sand. He picked it up, was sure he only brought one along for the trip and examined it. _Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger._

"Oh, that's mine!" Black scurried over to take the book from Green's hands.

"You brought a book?"

"No, well, I _bought_ it actually." He smiled sheepishly. "Back on the boat."

"You bought a book at the library?" Sapphire stood, her hands now holding her hips. "I'm pretty sure ya just stole a book, Black."

"For the last time, its a bookstore! What kind of boat has a library on it?"

"The same kind that has a bookstore maybe?" Pearl retorted. Black's mouth hung open but no witty response escaped his lips.

Gold took the book from Black's hands and flipped behind it. "Yeesh! Two hundred pokedollars for a book? Where'd you even get that kind of money?" Black snatched his book back.

"Hey, they don't have this copy in Unova! I had to use my entire allowance to buy it." His seniors ceased their packing to stare at him. As if realizing he made a grave mistake, Black slapped a hand to his mouth.

"I'm sorry, allo _-what?_ " It was then the three turned their attention to the oldest of them for an explanation.

Green continued packing. "Yes, I gave Black an allowance."

"Since _when_?"

"Since you all started living with me." Loud, offended sounds escaped the three. "Black is still a minor, it is only fitting I provide him with one during his indefinite time here in Kanto."

"And what about us?" Gold's hands gestured between Sapphire, Pearl, and himself. Green straightened up and raised his eyebrow.

"Sapphire is a Pidgeot's flight away from Littleroot, Pearl's father provided him with a card for expenses, and _you_ are an adult who is old enough to earn for a living." He explained, picked up his bags, and began walking ahead of them towards the docks. "Now if we're all set, I think we should catch our boat so we can get to Vermillion City on time."

When Green was out of earshot, the rest of the group had their attention towards their youngest, who held his book to his chest and grinned unabashedly.

"I guess we know who his favorite is."

Then Sapphire threw her slipper at him.

* * *

They arrived at Vermillion City in no time and had a few minutes to spare to search for the perfect spot to watch the fireworks show. Though the three still seemed bitter at the revelation that Green was spoiling Black—the former argued that they were exaggerating by saying the Unovan was stealing his attention—they managed to set it all aside and start getting excited again for the show.

"Oh, I can't wait to see this. We have fireworks every week in Nimbasa City so I'm really curious on how another region will top this off. You know, _if_ they can of course." Black scratched his nose proudly while the group walked along the pier.

"If its as good as ya say it is, I wanna see it!" Sapphire chimed, skipping as she walked. "All we got are water shows in Sootopolis, but nuthin' beats classic fireworks!"

"We should definitely go!" They stopped at an area with relatively few people. "If you guys ever visit, White could probably let you stay at her house at Undella. We could tour you around, maybe try the Battle Subway. You guys would _love_ the Ferris wheel."

"Why don't we then?" Green spoke suddenly, not quite as loud but his voice rang very clear in the small crowd. The four froze at his proclamation. He turned his head to look at each of their faces. "Why so surprised?"

"Wait, let me just clarify… did you say you _wanted_ to go to Unova?" Pearl spoke slowly and Green nodded.

"I've been thinking a lot today, about what you've all done for me, and the lengths you've gone through just to give me a day to breathe in the busiest season of the year. And… it's come to my attention that I don't spend as much time as I should with all of you." His eyes lingered on Black a second longer and he is reminded of his book. "You are guests in my home and in my region, and I've been less than hospitable. You've become more than that, however. You've become my..."

The word stayed stuck at his throat while the rest of them stared in anticipation. Green felt a bubbling in his chest and he wasn't sure what it was but it had him turn his head away for a moment before returning back to them, quickly changing the subject. "It doesn't have to be right away. Just give me a week or two to prepare and then we could go. Just the five of us."

Green expected them to rejoice, to start jumping and yelling in excitement over his decision. They've been wanting him to drop work and go on vacation for the past weeks they've stayed with him so it was natural that he expected them to be just as loud when he finally gave in. Instead, they were all quiet. They stared at him as like Stantlers caught in headlights. For the first time since he's met all of them, they were speechless.

He would have passed it off as being caught off guard by Green's sudden want to go on vacation, but what sent that feeling back to his chest was that they all looked uncertain and… guilty.

Gold and Pearl exchanged looks and the older one cleared his throat. "Green that's great! Glad we finally got you realizing you need a break away from work but uhm…"

"What is it?"

Just as Gold was about to explain again, Green noticed the Hoenn girl suddenly perk up and start flailing her arms around. "But! But! There should be other things that you should be paying attention to, too!"

"Like what?" It was then the three other boys stopped looking melancholic and the energy returned to their eyes. Their gaze focused past him.

"Like me, maybe?" Green's eyes widened at the voice and he turned around quickly to see her standing there, a hand on her hip, another holding a purse, and her smile bright and beautiful.

He stood stunned for a second but then started walking over to her. The girl opened her arms and took him in an embrace while Green's hand held the back of her head and brought her closer to him. "Blue."

"Oh look at you being all sweet and sentimental in public." Blue chirped and proceeded to give him a kiss on the cheek, prompting Green to let go of her.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in—"

"Kalos?" He nodded softly and Blue quietly slipped her hand into his. "Oh, yes. I was very much enjoying my little vacation there, _mon_ _cœur_. But I got a call from four little birdies that told me their papa bird was overworking himself."

"Okay, for the record, we did not call you that when we called her over." Pearl pointed, his cheeks tinted red. Blue placed a hand to her mouth and winked at him playfully.

Green stared at the four of his companions, all of them now sporting their normal grins as if their sudden change in mood a while ago had not just happened. He didn't say anything, but his expression demanded a more detailed explanation from the four.

"Like you and Blue said, we thought you were working too hard. You barely got any sleep and you've looked more stressed out than you've ever been. So we asked her to come over and convince you to relax a bit." Black started.

"We actually didn't count on you figuring out on your own that you were steppin' in workaholic territory already, but we still think you should take this opportunity of Blue being home now and spend the rest of your night and day tomorrow together with her." Sapphire clapped her hands together, signaling the end of the explanation. Green's eyes furrowed still.

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'tomorrow'?"

Pearl took out his phone from his pocket while Gold stretched his hands behind his back. "Hey so remember that night when you made Pearl do all those emails to all those people about your day off and to have it all approved and junk?"

The bubbling returned to his chest but for an entirely different reason now. "What did you do?"

When Pearl was done scrolling through his phone he handed it over to his senior. "We sent the PLA another email."

Green looked over the smartphone and the email from the PLA that displayed on it.

 _ **To Mr. Pearl Brooks,**_

 _We have reviewed your request for a two-day vacation leave of the Viridian City Gym Leader, Green Oak, and have decided on its approval upon your acceptance, as well as all parties involved, to our terms of agreement on the matter. The following are the conditions of which you and your group have agreed upon:_

 _*That there will only be one full work day allowed out of the two in which the Viridian Gym will be completely closed;_

 _*That a suitable and experienced replacement will take the place of Green Oak as Gym Leader for the day, their past accomplishments be reviewed by the Pokemon League Association;_

 _*That the following trainers—Gold Mason, Sapphire Birch, Pearl Brooks, and Black Santiago—have been reviewed and deemed highly qualified to the position and title of Viridian Gym Leader;_

 _*And that the current Viridian Gym Leader, Green Oak, has given his written consent on this matter._

 _We thank you for your cooperation and patience and would like to wish Mr. Oak a good rest._

 _ **Approved by:**_

 _ **Lance Grayson  
**_ Indigo League Champion/Head of the Kanto Pokemon League Association

And at that moment, upon reading the final word of the email, the sky burst into color and the firework show had just begun.


	4. In Which Pearl Makes a Phone Call

**Good lord, I'm sorry this took so long, I'm also sorry for saying that this chapter would be shorter that was a complete and utter lie as you can tell.**

 **Here's something nostalgic, a disclaimer: Some Oldrivalshipping coming up ahead (Green/Blue), just so you know.**

* * *

Green was tired, but it wasn't the kind of tired he had been experiencing in the past few weeks when he worked at the gym. No, it was a different kind of tired. Arguably, in his opinion, it was the worse kind of tired. The mental kind.

After the revelation the four had dropped on him, Green couldn't say anything until after the fireworks show. And when it ended all he could do was place a hand to his face and breathe loudly before accepting all that was happening. It had already been done, after all, and he had no energy left in him that day to argue or do anything about it.

He did ask them how they got his supposed 'consent.'

"That night when you were giving me a quick rundown on those emails I had you sign a consent form on my phone and you kind of thought it was for the one day off so you didn't bother checking on it and after that we sent you to sleep." Pearl explained then paused for a second before apologizing for tricking him.

Green then began laying down the ground rules. It may be for a day but a lot can happen in a day, and he needed to be all kinds of cautious when it came to the four other fire dex holders.

"Don't worry about it!" Gold waved his hand to dismiss him. "You read what the PLA said! We are _highly qualified_ to take your place! We'll be fine!"

That was another thing that bothered him. It wasn't that he didn't see them as great trainers. All four of them have done their part in saving their respective regions from destruction and chaos. When it came to fighting against evil organizations, Green believed they could do it with their eyes closed.

But this wasn't like fighting against Legendary Pokemon or adults that grew mad with power. Being a gym leader meant being more than just a great fighter or just winning battles. Green honestly wanted to know what went on in Lance's head when he approved of Pearl's impromptu request. Did the champion truly believe they were capable or was he simply too preoccupied to care?

Despite his better judgment, Green decided to have a little more faith in the four. Pearl and Black were smart. Gold and Sapphire were resourceful. They weren't kids anymore either, they could handle one day at the gym.

"We're going to ride on Walo all the way to Pallet Town again." As Sapphire said this the large Pokemon had emerged himself from the depths of Vermillion Bay, effectively tipping over a few boats. While she and Black started hoisting themselves and their things on the Wailord's back, Gold outstretched his open hand towards Green.

"You know, someone's going to need to take your car back to the gym." Green, with every muscle in his body rejecting just the idea of Gold driving his car, reluctantly pulled his keys out his pocket and handed it over. Gold whooped in excitement and headed atop the waiting Pokemon.

Green turned to the blond that had remained. "Pearl, please keep it under control."

"Yes, sir." He saluted and smiled at him. "Have fun on your second day off."

Then Green and Blue watched as the blue giant disappeared from the horizon along with its four passengers.

Green sat thinking on the hotel bed they shared, an open book on his lap and a pair of glasses perched upon his nose. He tried to calm himself, tried to get his mind back on that relaxation track he had going since that morning, but all that occupied his thoughts were the four and whether they would be fine, whether the gym would be, or whether he made the right decision.

He heard the bathroom door close and he picked up his book again. Blue walked out already dressed in her nightgown.

"You don't have to pretend, Greeny. I know you're not actually reading your little book." She hummed aloud, walking past him and towards the other side of the bed.

Green didn't look up. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh save it. You know you can't lie to an ex-con." She sat comfortable beside him and gingerly picked his glasses off his face. "And what's with these?"

"I need them to read."

Blue raised a brow, knowing full well that his eyesight was fine and he just didn't want to admit he thought he looked sophisticated in it. He did though, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"I know you're thinking about them." She placed the spectacles on her bedside. "You need to stop worrying so much."

"It's _them_ , Blue."

"Really?" He gave her a look and she shrugged. "Alright, I'll give you that. They can be reckless and destructive sometimes."

Green sighed, closing his book and rubbing his temples from the stress that started to build up within him. Blue rubbed his arm to help relieve some of it.

"But they're smart enough to know better. Like the PLA said, they were more than qualified for the job."

He didn't have the energy left to argue. He'd have to trust them with that responsibility and believe that they can truly be good gym leaders for a day. "Yeah, you're right."

"I always am." Blue winked and Green couldn't help a small smile. He leaned in to give her a kiss and they spent the night in each other's arms.

* * *

Gold started the morning bright and early, feeling extra chipper than usual. He had such a wonderful time with his juniors and Green the previous day that he thought he'd be a good senior and prepare breakfast for everyone else.

When the others finally woke up, they were surprised to see the Johtoan up and about already.

"Good morning my lovely juniors!" Gold sang, effortlessly flipping a pancake without looking. They greeted him with a little less enthusiasm, seeing as they just woke up. Sapphire, without another word, left the kitchen to go towards their backyard.

"Gold cooking breakfast for us unprompted." Black chuckled sleepily to himself. "Must be the end of the world."

"Oh, ha ha, yes you are very funny. But I will not fight back because _I_ am very happy today." He grinned, bopping his finger on Black's nose in the process. "Do you know why?"

"Because you got to drive Green's car?"

There was a shine in Gold's eyes. "Valid answer, but no!"

"It's because he gets to handle the first two hours of the gym today." Pearl huffed a piece of hair out of his face and Gold repeatedly slammed his spatula on the counter.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Right answer goes to the Sinnoan!" The blond grunted in response and Gold went back to cooking.

"Why are you so upset? You got second place."

"You don't understand! Being first is essential! By being the first of us to challenge all those trainers he's setting up the kind of image this one-day-four-gym-leaders event will be!" Gold turned back around and dropped a stack of pancakes on Black's plate.

"Well thank you for putting your trust in me, Pearl. _So kind of you_." Pearl rolled his eyes. "But I'll have you know that I've been taking care of my public image nowadays so obviously there's going to be no incident."

"Excuse me for being concerned about Green and the Viridian Gym's reputation." Pearl scoffed.

Gold narrowed his eyes and leaned against the counter, the fire in his eyes set ablaze. "Oh, you're excused."

"What're ya arguin' about this time." Sapphire walked back in, Pearl's Chatot resting atop of her head.

" _This time! This time!"_ It repeated.

"Just about the whole who gets to be gym leader first and something about reputation. I don't know, I wasn't really listening." Black mumbled with a face full of pancake. He stared at the Pokemon that made itself comfortable on Sapphire's nest of hair. "Hey, did Musha eat yet?"

"I tried to get 'er out with the others but she didn't wanna."

"Ah, it's okay. I'll feed her later probably."

"So anyway," she sat down and shoved Gold away from his and Pearl's angry staring contest, "what's our game plan?"

"I'm going first, obviously." Gold reiterated once more, all the while rubbing his cheek.

"And you and Black will man the door, keep the order."

"Ugh! Door duty?" Sapphire laid her head down the cold surface of the counter. "But that's boring!"

"Would you rather be handing out the badges, taking count of the wins and losses, and making sure the Pokemon are healed for each battle then?" Pearl asked, a smirk growing on his lips.

Sapphire narrowed her eyes at him and groaned. "Boring!"

"Well how about refereeing?" Sapphire sat up straight and nodded vigorously at the boy, her eyes sparkling as she did.

"Then it's settled!" The blond clapped his hands. "We'll rotate once Gold is done with his shift."

Once they all agreed, an intense aura filled the air and the four trainers exchanged looks of determination and confidence. The day had only just begun.

* * *

Blue picked out a place to eat, seeing as she knew the city more than Green did, and they found themselves eating breakfast at a small café near the bay. He listened to his girlfriend talk about her vacation in the far region while idly stirring his coffee cup.

"...then after touring the boutiques in the city I sent over the package of new Pokedex models to the Kalos professor like Professor Oak wanted. He was actually a charming guy. A little over the top but not that bad looking." Blue said all the while taking bites from her pancakes. Green nodded, continuing to stir his drink.

She watched him do so for a minute before clearing her throat and laying her arms crossed on the table. "You're thinking about them again." Green blinked his eyes at her.

"I wasn't. I was listening to you."

Blue raised her brow and clicked her tongue. "Then what was I just talking about?"

"Professor Sycamore." He said immediately, surprising Blue a little. "And the new Pokedexes he needed."

The brunette huffed a piece of her hair out of her face. "Alright, you win this round Greeny. But I stand by what I said."

Green avoided her eyes for a minute. Blue was very good at reading people since all her life she's learned the art of masking her own emotions. He was surprised during the first years of their friendship when she had expertly told him the kind of person he is and the kind of thoughts that ran through his head. Of course, he never truly admitted that she was right back then. He's since learned his lesson however.

"Okay, maybe I'll just call them, see how they're doing just so I can relax a little." Blue eventually gave in and let him dial Pearl's number on his phone.

It rang for a while and each ring that passed by when the Sinnoan did not answer sent that bubbling feeling back into Green's system. By the time he heard the automated voice he ended the call and attempted to try reaching Gold.

When that had resulted with nothing as well, Blue snatched his phone out of his hands and began stuffing it in her purse. Green furrowed his brows, his face now etched with hints of distress.

"Blue, give it back, let me call Black."

"I am not going to watch you get even more stressed when Black isn't going to answer either." She told him. Green grunted.

"You don't know that."

"Green, they're fine! They're probably too busy handling the gym to be using their phones right now. It's a special event today, there's going to be tons of trainers around."

"They could be having a tough time, they might need some help, they might've-"

"Burned your house down?" Blue sighed and reached over and opened her palm. Green stared at it for a second before slowly placing his hand in hers. She stroked it gently with her fingers. "I thought you said you had faith in them?"

"I do. But their my…" he paused, feeling the word hanging by the end of his tongue, before changing, "Team. I just want to know they're okay."

"Just knowing that they're too busy focusing on their duties to answer you should be reassurance enough." She said in a soft voice and it took Green a very long while to finally relax the tension in his shoulders.

When he nodded at her Blue lifted his hand and kissed it, leaving a very visible mark of her lipstick on him.

Green eyed it, not bothering to wipe it off. "You've always been good with words."

"True. I needed to be good at talking if I wanted to expertly con people." Before Green could answer to that Blue intertwined their fingers together. "That's in the past though."

"Oh?"

She winked at him. "Now I'm just good with you."

* * *

Rogue flames scattered the battle area as the fight before Gold just ended. He breathed heavily, the heat getting to him finally, but his grin had remained on his face. He watched as the opponent's Pokemon, a Kangaskhan, fell to the ground, burn marks visible on its rough skin.

Sapphire quietly counted in her head, watching the fallen Pokemon for any signs of getting back up. Once she had reached the end of her counter she raised her flag towards the Johtoan. "Kangaskhan is unable to battle! The winner of the match is Gym Leader Gold!"

"Again." Pearl muttered under his breath, writing the win down on his small notebook. Gold pumped his hand in the air and went over to his partner, his Typhlosion, and began scratching his furry belly.

"Nice one, Explotaro!" When the Pokemon made a sound of pride Gold walked over to the opposing trainer. "Great battle man, put 'er there!"

He shook his hand vigorously, startling the trainer.

"Th-thank you…"

"You keep training! You've got potential! Stop by again when you've gotten stronger!" After saying his goodbyes, the trainer left, and Black slipped in quickly from outside.

"Should I let the next one in?" He asked.

"Give us five minutes, Black. I need to talk to Gold." Pearl walked over to his senior, who had returned his starter back to his ball.

"What up, P-Man?"

"First off, don't ever call me that. Second, what do you think you're doing?" Pearl accused.

"Winning! I'm amazing aren't I?"

Pearl pinched the bridge of his nose. He then raised his notebook and tapped a page with his pen. "Yes! And all you've been doing is win! You've had eleven battles in the last two hours and we haven't given any trainer a single badge yet!"

"It's not my fault I'm just too strong to beat." Gold grinned to himself. "Besides! What kind of gym leader just _lets_ the trainer win?"

"It's called picking your battles, Gold. And I'm going to show you how a real gym leader does it." Pearl slammed his notebook to the Johtoan's chest and approached his side of the battle square. "Black!"

The brunet stood straight at the attention. "Uh, yeah?"

"Call on the next opponent and make the announcement that Pearl Brooks from Sinnoh is now the gym leader!" With a salute Black left the building and even from inside they could here the boy's shouts repeat Pearl word-for-word. Then in a few minutes, the door opened and a female trainer entered.

"Uh, hello. So I heard you guys switched already." She spoke quietly, hands to herself.

"Yes, we did." Pearl glanced back at his senior. "What's your name?"

"Oh, it's Hyun-ah."

"Nice to meet you, Hyun-ah. Are you ready for your battle?" When the girl nodded, Pearl brought out a Pokeball. Sapphire returned to her spot as referee, having refused the position the blond was previously in by Gold, and raised her flag.

"I'm ready." There was a crack in her voice and she brought out a Pokeball of her own.

"The battle will now begin!" Sapphire called out and Hyun-ah threw her ball.

"Come on, E!" Upon impact, an Exeggutor materialized unto the field. Gold walked up beside Sapphire.

"Easy first win, he just needs to bring out his Infernape and take her Exeggutor out with a Flamethrower." He told her. Sapphire didn't respond to him just, only stared at the Sinnoan.

Pearl threw his ball in the air and out came his Floatzel. "Get ready, Zelhiko!"

Gold's eyes grew wildly as he watched the Floatzel fall within a minute upon receiving the full brunt of a Solarbeam from the Exeggutor.

* * *

"You've met Professor Sycamore before?" There wasn't complete shock in Blue's voice when he had revealed the information, but it did surprise her. "Since when? Was it through your grandpa?"

"Well, yes and no." Green answered quite trivially. He and Blue were taking a small stroll down the city's park, her hand holding unto his arm. "Gramps talked about him a few times before I went to Kalos, and I decided to stop by and meet him formally."

"Okay, that's also something. The fact that you went to Kalos in the first place… when did this happen?" At that point they had found a bench they could take a seat at and decided to take a break.

"About five years ago, before we started dating. I decided to take up some special training." Before Blue could even open her mouth to ask Green lifted out the iridescent ring necklace from out of his shirt. She let out a sound of understanding.

"That explains a few things. Red and I always thought you were just too busy to train with us." She absentmindedly fondled the similar looking ring that rested on her finger. "Ah, Green Oak, ahead of his fellow dex holders as always."

He decided not to respond to that and just basked in the silence of the morning. He quietly listened to the little kids scurrying about the grass, playing kickball with their Pokemon and friends. If it weren't up to the four energetic trainers he would've just spent his off days the way he was now. Sitting, not doing anything in particular, and in the presence of someone he loved.

Green glanced at the woman beside him and watched her hum a small tune whilst brushing her fingers on his hand. He'd half expected her to start up another story again, maybe talk about her trip to Kalos some more. It only made him realize how much they've grown since the first time they've met. She was noisy and obnoxious. He was, admittedly, cold and stoic.

Though, things haven't completely changed since then. She certainly didn't stop being noisy. But then Green didn't mind this time.

He let her hold his hand and stared once more at the ring it adorned. "Your birthday is coming up."

"It is." Blue mused.

"We could go somewhere, just the two of us."

"Oh?" She leaned closer. "Doesn't the Indigo League start around then? I thought you'd want to stay and watch the competition."

"It's your twenty-fifth birthday. Nothing is more important than celebrating that day with you." He softened his eyes at her and Blue grinned.

"Ohoho, such cheesy words Greeny! Be careful or your reputation for being a cold-blooded human being is gonna go awry." At this point a smile had managed its way unto his lips. It's not very often do her jokes amuse him, but even he can't help it sometimes.

Green closed the gap between them and immersed himself in their kiss. For a moment he forgot about his worries about the four. Yes, if something bad had truly happened he was sure to be the first to find out. Nothing could possibly ruin his day.

"Excuse me, Green Oak? Gym Leader of Viridian City?"

Their moment was interrupted and the couple stared at the woman that called him out. She stood a bit of a distance away but had approached once the two had separated. Green raised his brow.

"To whom am I speaking to?"

"My apologies, my name is Bonnie Deeran from the Kanto Inquirer. I was hoping to get a word from you for an article." Green was afraid he had thought too soon about his momentary peace.

"I'm sorry, but Green is, as you must already know, taking a day off and will not be answering any questions from anyone today." Blue immediately spoke up.

"I understand, but I would like to get his say on this one-day event at the gym he had planned and why he has decided to agree to let four foreign trainers, despite their accomplishments, run a Kanto League gym unsupervised." She stretched out her arm, turning on the recorder she had in her hand. Green narrowed his eyes at her, but instead of saying anything, his mind raced with the new thoughts that she had supplied.

Blue, sensing his growing worry, got up from the bench and approached the girl. "Alright, listen here Bonnie. Let's talk, from one woman to another-no, one _journalist_ to another…"

"Y-you're a journalist?"

"Oh certainly! From a little magazine in Celadon. Why don't we step aside and have a quick chat, shall we?" The older woman took her away from the bench, leaving Green alone. Almost on impulse, he pulled out his phone and began dialing Pearl's number again. He listened to the ringing until, once more, it went into voice mail. He shut his phone off when Blue had returned without the reporter.

"Well that's taken care of." She brushed her hands together, a smirk on her lips. "A little Blue-charm always gets them."

Green didn't look at her, and his gaze was focused on the space in front of him. Blue was going to ask what the matter was when she noticed the phone in his hands. She sighed. He really thought she finally got him to stop worrying about them.

She sat back down beside him. "Green, listen…"

"No, I think it's my turn to talk now." She pressed her lips shut and quietly sat beside him. What surprised her was not the seriousness the words implied but the softness that he projected it with. He took her hands in his and gently brushed a thumb on her ring. "I don't think I've been very fair to you today."

"What are you talking about?"

"The four of them gave me this day off to spend time with you. We've both been so busy the last couple of weeks we hardly had time together. Now we finally have this day and all I've been doing is bothering you with my worries." He breathed softly and looked at her face, her eyes, her nose, all the features he found so endearing. "And I see you trying to make our day work while you try to comfort me and though I am grateful, I also feel guilty."

The corner of Blue's mouth twitch into a half smile. Watching Green openly admit and express guilt over what he's done has always been a rare thing. If she had to be honest, it was a rare thing for her as well. Sometimes they'd have arguments that would last _days_ and, although neither of them were ever quite serious, it still took them forever to see the wrong in themselves and make up. She wanted to say something lighthearted but his words were so genuine it merely left her speechless.

Green, having been with this woman for a good five years now, could already tell what she thought in that moment. So instead of commenting on that, he brought her ringed hand to his lips. "You're right, I've worried too much. And I saw that worry projected in words by that reporter. She doubted them, and as much as I hate to admit it, I have as well. Not because I didn't think they could handle running the gym but because I wasn't there looking after them. And I guess I just didn't want to admit that they could be fine… without me."

He wasn't really too good with words. As a child he'd grown distant, made sure not to get attached to too many people, especially after what happened to his parents. That kind of mentality only made him even more emotionally stunted growing up. So when he finally got what he needed, good friends, a loving girlfriend, worldly recognition and approval, he guessed he could afford to feel once in a while again. When the four of them entered and became a significant part of his life, he supposed they were the one last thing he needed.

Blue sighed and took her hand away from his in order to hold his face. "You're a strong man, Green. You've accomplished so much in so little time. You've helped save the world almost five times! You've conquered everything you've ever encountered. You can conquer this too."

"Hm." A smile came to his lips and he kissed her palm. "I suppose I can. Thank you, Blue."

"You're welcome." She leaned in and stole a quick kiss from him, then broke into a grin. "You know, the way you're acting with them now sure does paint an interesting picture for our future, don't you think?"

Green raised his brow. "You're thinking that far ahead?"

"What? Can't blame a girl for wanting a miniature me." She then winked and Green chuckled under his breath. He looked back down at her ring again, hoping that one day he'd give her one she deserved, and placed a hand over it.

"One step at a time."

* * *

Black stood by the door when Pearl's two hours of matches took place and he shared a different reaction when he saw his senior purposely throw most of them so that the challenger could win. He saw on the side Sapphire constantly shaking her head and rolling her eyes while beside her Gold was practically red with anger. Each minute between him bringing out the challenger and calling in the next one was just filled with the two of them arguing to the point that even _he_ had to tune it out. When his time was finished Gold recorded only one win out of six matches.

After telling over a dozen trainers outside to come back in an hour or so after lunch, Black walked in on another yelling fest while Sapphire healed all of Pearl's Pokemon.

"What kind of piss poor battling was that?! A _child_ could've won more matches than you!"

"For the last time, Gold, it's about _managing the statistics._ Somebody needs to balance out your overpowered kill streak and if that person has to be me then it's gonna be me!"

"Balance? _Statistics?!_ Pokemon battles are about giving your all in a fight and you throwing away your matches for a few numbers on a page is _not_ what good trainers do!"

"A good _Gym Leader_ needs to have all the factors in mind! I'm just trying to make sure you don't ruin the gym's reputation for Green! He put me in charge for a reason!"

"Oh! I'm sorry! Let me just get your 'kiss ass of the year' award and we can go on our merry-fucking-way." At this point Pearl was seething with anger and was just about to call out his Pokemon when Sapphire came between them and slammed their chests with her hand, effectively getting them to take a step apart.

"Alright, that's enough! Geez you're both worse than Poochyenas and Skittys! Both of you sit down, eat some food and take a breather. This ain't about either of you, this ain't about winning or losing, and this ain't about Green! Now go calm down or I'm gonna hafta bring out Rono!"

The two of them grew quiet, not quite looking at their blue-eyed friend, before giving each other one furrowed glance and exiting to two different rooms in a huff. Black approached Sapphire, hands in pockets and a his face etched in worry.

"Are they gonna be okay?"

"They're just hot-headed right now. Nothing a couple of quiet time and screamin' won't fix." As if on cue two separate muffled yells were heard from the direction the two went and Sapphire jabbed her thumb behind her. "Ya see?"

"You sure do know a lot about calming people down."

"Yeah, well, ya gotta learn from experience. Ruby ain't a peach to deal with sometimes." She grinned and picked up the clipboard Gold had dropped earlier on the floor. "You're up next in about an hour. Those two will be gone for a while so I'll handle refereeing and all the other stuff for now."

"I don't know how Green does it on his own. Man, no wonder it's hard getting this job, it's tough work!" He was quiet for a minute and started kicking at the ground. "Hey Sapph, you mind if I ask for some advice?"

"What for?" She walked to the healing machine to retrieve Pearl's Pokemon and Black followed suit.

"For… for the gym battles." At this point Sapphire stopped gathering the Pokeballs and stared at her junior, who was sheepishly hiding in his cap. "Listen, I… I think of myself as a really good Pokemon trainer. Not to toot my own horn but I've handled a lot of tough battles and I'm pretty sure I could win a lot but… I don't want to make a mistake right now."

Sapphire crossed her arms and stared at him. "You plannin' on being a gym leader one day?"

"Maybe. It's an option. You know, after…" He gestured across the room and when Sapphire looked it was towards his bag propped up with a few of the things he had bought during their brief stay in Vermillion. Sapphire mouthed an 'ah' and nodded. "I won't be perfect, but I wanna at least try."

"Hey, don't worry too much about it. I get what ya mean." She playfully punched his arm then cleared her throat. "If you wanna be a good gym leader, then you gotta listen to what Pearl said a while ago."

Black widened his eyes. "So I have to lose a lot?"

"No! That part Pearl was bein' dumb. Just like how Gold was bein' dumb. What Pearl said that actually made sense was finding the balance. But not any of that number stuff or yer wins or losses. That doesn't matter!" She raised her finger to focus his attention. "Ya gotta find the balance between giving it your all and being as fair as possible. They were both bein' unreasonable. Gold fought every battle thinkin' this was a competition he needed to win and didn't give any trainer a chance. Pearl threw a few rounds thinkin' he needed to make up for Gold's wins and he didn't think to give the trainers an authentic battle."

"Plus they mostly did it to get back at each other." Black pointed out and Sapphire tapped her nose.

"Now yer gettin' it. They're good people, Black. They just got a bit too much pride for their own good."

"Heh, like all fire dex holders?" Sapphire grinned and raised her head up proudly.

"Like fire dex holders. Now come on! We still got a some time left, let's go grab some lunch, I'm starving!"

* * *

It's coming into very late in the afternoon, the sun practically setting on the horizon yet the gym was still wide awake. Sounds of battle commands and Pokemon cries and roars could be heard even from outside, where a handful of trainers waited excitedly for their turn at the one-day special event. After spending their entire day together, Green and Blue decided it was a good time as any to end it so that Green could at least see the last few battles before the gym closes. After dropping off Blue at her apartment in Celadon City, Green flew back to Viridian on his Charizard.

Even from above he could see a number of people standing in front and, not wanting to answer any questions or deal with interviews, decided to land behind the gym where no one could reach him and enter through the back.

He was a little worried about what the four would think of him returning even before it got completely dark out, but he had already mentally prepared an explanation, so he was at the very least ready to deal with it. He entered through the first floor kitchen but just before stepping into the break room attached to it he heard a voice from inside. It was Pearl.

"...have things all ready. Yes, I have my ticket. Yeah I bought some Rage Candy bars for you." There was a quiet pause but even then Green didn't step in just yet. "...yeah, I understand my mistake. I know I was in the wrong about it too. Guess I still have a lot to learn before I step in your shoes huh… alright, I'll talk to you later daddy. Love you."

When he heard a small sigh Green took it as a signal to enter and his presence startled Pearl as he sat there, one hand on his phone and another on his chest. "Geez! A little warning next time!"

"Sorry." Green stared, not quite sure what to say after overhearing the end of his phone call. Pearl scratched the back of his head before pausing and then proceeding to push himself off his feet and put his hands in front of him.

"G-Green! About your missed calls and messages, I can explain-"

"It's alright." His small reassurance confused Pearl and his soft smile afterwards didn't help him understand. "I shouldn't have bothered all of you so much. You can handle yourselves just fine."

Pearl's confusion was then replaced with guilt and he looked away from Green, avoiding his eyes. "Hey look… about that. I-"

Before he could even explain what happened the doors burst open and in came Gold, his eyes burning with excitement. He first turned to Pearl but doubled back once he saw Green standing in the room as well. "Yo! When did you get back?"

"Just now, is something the matter Gold?" He waved his hand out, to dismiss his nervousness.

"Nah! Everything's great! Since you're here now, you should check out Sapphire! She's on her last match and it's literally the best one all day! Come on, Pearl!" Gold hurried over to the blond and would've dragged him to the door if Pearl had not been quick to react and follow him. Green decided to trail behind them and as they made their way back to the main gym he overheard the two start talking.

"Hey Gold, listen, about earlier…"

"Save it. I talked to Crys. Even when I didn't like everything you did, I get what you mean. I was being dumb."

"I was too." Gold then looped an arm over his shoulder and grinned and Pearl responded back with a smile. Green didn't quite understand what that whole conversation meant but part of him was still pretty proud of their resolution.

When they opened the doors back into the main gym floor, a wave of heat hit the three's faces the instant they arrived. The entire room was lit with colors of orange and red, embers scattered the air like fireflies in the night, and the smoke swirled around with every movement made. Though the thought of the four of them burning his gym to the ground had of course occurred to him, this wasn't anything like he imagined. His gym glowed with the kind of beauty he could only dream of.

Sapphire stood on one end, crouched to the ground, her face lighting up with adrenaline, parts of her clothes and skin charred from the fires thrown by the two Pokemon that stood on the field. On the other end the trainer, a male, was sweating from the heat, his hands practically shaking, a grin plastered on his face. Sapphire had her Blaziken out and the opponent had his Darmanitan.

The three of them approached the referee box where Black stood, officiating the match. The brunet barely noticed them arrive and was instead watching the battle unfold intently. Gold looked like he could barely contain his excitement.

"They've been going at it for more than thirty minutes already. These are their last Pokemon." He informed them and Green looked back at his junior as she threw command after command and moving almost as much as her Pokemon did.

"Let's go Darmanitan, hit her with another Flare Blitz!"

"Dodge it! Land another Sky Uppercut!" The raging Pokemon charged once more at Sapphire's Blaziken, its fists bursting with flame and power. Blaziken dodged it fast enough and somersaulted over it before winding up its clawed fist and striking the Pokemon from behind.

"Work Up then use Rollout, quick!" Darmanitan fell down from the hit but got back up and roared, beating its chest as it did. Right afterwards it leapt to the air and balled itself before launching into Blaziken's chest.

"Recover and watch him, Toro!" Blaziken stood in the middle, dodging and stepping away from each potential hit. Both its eyes as well as its trainer's focused on its movement until the moment clicked simultaneously in their minds. "Fire Punch, now!"

Blaziken leapt just as Darmanitan attempted another tackle and the Blaze Pokemon spun in the air for a second before plunging its flaming fist right on the head of its opponent. Darmanitan ceased its rolling and the room was dead silent now that the sounds of battle no longer filled it. Everyone held their breaths as the dust and smoke cleared and Blaziken's fist was still paused in place. Black narrowed his eyes, taking a look at Darmanitan, and noticed it unmoving. He counted in his head and then raised his flag towards Sapphire.

"Darmanitan is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Gym Leader Sapphire!" Upon hearing the verdict, Sapphire finally let out the breath she was holding. She grinned and ran towards her Pokemon, giving it one quick hug before making her way to the challenger.

"Hunter! That was an amazing battle!" The trainer was surprised by her coming up to him so quickly, and hurriedly took back his Darmanitan in its pokeball before replying.

"Th-thanks! You were amazing too, I've never had my heart practically beat out of my chest like this in a long while."

"Your Pokemon didn't go into Zen Mode, was it because it had the Sheer Force ability instead? That was some risky battling there! We should definitely have a rematch sometime!" She slapped his arm happily and this brought a bright smile to Hunter's face. They continued to talk enthusiastically to each other, discussing the battle that just happened. The boys stood from afar, all of them feeling a mix of pride and awe.

"Now that's a gym battle." Black commented, checking the win down on the clipboard before handing it over to Pearl and making his way to heal the rest of Sapph's Pokemon.

Green approached the pair, his hands behind his back, and spoke. "That was quite the match."

While the trainer froze in place at the sight of him Sapphire only seemed to glow even more at his presence. "Green! You're back! How was your date with Blue?"

"It was great, thank you again for it." He then turned to the trainer that seemed starstruck to see him. "Hunter, was it?"

"Y-yes Gym Leader Green, sir!"

"I look forward to battling with you soon." His words were enough encouragement to light the fire back in his eyes and Hunter nodded before rushing out of the door with a newfound determination. Once he was gone Green looked over to the brunette that stood beside him as she sighed and started dusting off char from her person.

"So, did I make ya proud over there?" She jokingly asked, a small chuckle coming out when she did. Green only lifted his hand and wiped a bit of ash that got on her nose before giving back a small smile.

"When did I ever stop?" At this point the other three had walked up to them and Green stepped aside so they could talk excitedly about her battle. Gold wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off of the ground.

"Hey!"

"Look at you running around proving us guys wrong!" When he put her down he crossed his arms and smiled apologetically. "Hate to admit it, but you definitely are better at this than us."

"We were being a bunch of assholes, Sapph. Sorry." The girl laughed in response and punched both of their arms.

"You sure were." She then proceeded to send Black a knowing wink. "Told ya all they needed was a time out."

Green still didn't understand what occurred earlier that the two arguably more prideful members of this group were apologizing so much for, but he felt like he didn't have to. Their little meeting was disrupted by a short knock on the gym door, and some voices from behind spoke up.

"Uh, hello? Are you guys still taking challengers?"

Pearl looked at his Poketch and slapped the side of his head. "Arceus! It's almost eight o'clock! We should probably tell them the gym is closed now." The blond was already making his way to the doors to deliver the announcement but Green placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I'll take it from here."

"Are you sure? We can handle it, you know. It's still technically your day off." Green scanned their faces, looking at each one of them and thinking back to what they've done for him in the span of just two days. He turned around, hiding the smile on his face, and placed a hand on the door. He didn't know what he's done to deserve them.

"I'm sure." He pushed the doors open and the small crowd of trainers that were outside stepped back. All their eyes widened, surprised to see the original gym leader standing in front of them. "The special four gym leader event has officially come to an end. I want to thank you all for your patience and participation as well as to apologize if it has caused you any sort of inconvenience."

Just as a few nodded and started to leave, Green cleared his throat. "Of course, the event has ended, but as per usual during League season, the gym hours are still extended for two more hours." He put his hands behind him again, eyeing the challengers expectantly.

A brand new fire made its way to their faces and their resignation early was replaced by determination. Green turned around and there the four stood with variations of arm crosses, hands on hips, and pouts.

"Green." The authoritative way Black said it definitely surprised him but nevertheless he approached them and placed a hand on their shoulders.

"Nothing I can do or say can express how grateful I am for what you've done for me in the past two days. I… don't know how I've come to deserve any of you in my life. Thank you." The tension in their brows disappeared as Green spoke and he could have sworn some of their eyes started to look glossy. He took his hands away. "I've rested like you said and I've never felt more energized. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to go back to doing what I do best, and I wouldn't mind your help again."

The four of them looked at each other and after exchanging a few nods and grins, Gold winked at him. "You betcha, boss."

With that reassurance, Green swiveled back around and without saying anything, waited for the next in line to come up. A girl took a step, her hair was short and hidden in a cap, her eyes of two different colors, and she looked up at Green already holding a Pokeball.

Green smirked, "Good, then let's get started."

* * *

The two hours went by in a flash. Green felt a kind of invigorating he's only felt a handful of times in his entire life during it, and he had to thank them again for the day offs that made it possible. When it was all over, he didn't even feel tired. He sent the last trainer away with the badge they rightfully won thinking he could go a few more rounds. He thought about asking the other four if they'd like to take him on, but he saw the tired looks on their faces and, no matter how many times they'd deny it, he decided it was time to call it a night. Well, at least after he made them dinner.

Even though the bags in their eyes were starting to show, the four sat at the table talking nonstop about their day while Green cooked. He didn't know where they got all that energy. It reminded him a lot of his best friend. Sometimes he wondered why it wasn't him that led this passionate group of his.

When he put the food on the table they wasted no time scarfing down his cooking. He took his place at the head as always and watched them satisfy their hunger. Sometimes one of them would start talking about their day again, recounting a few of the battles that were held in the gym. Green noticed them skirting over a topic of interest, the supposed 'fight' that occurred between Gold and Pearl which had been resolved as he returned home. When they got close to touching upon it again, they would grow silent and, without missing a beat, return to their food and lively stories.

He'd wanted to ask them about it, thinking that maybe the problem hasn't been completely fixed, but he stopped himself before he could. No point in making a big deal of something that was already over. Besides, he was starting to learn to let go a little. Which reminded him of something he wanted to talk about the night before any of this happened.

Green cleared his throat, catching their attention and pausing one of Black's attempts at mimicking Sapphire's Blaziken's final move of the night. "Do you mind if I say something?"

"Oh, sure! No problem Green, what's up?" The Unovan sat back down, and in doing so shoved that last of his meal into his mouth. Green placed his hands on the table and looked at each of them in the eye.

"I know I've said it before already, but it bears repeating it again. Thank you, so much, for doing this for me. You had no obligation to plan something like this for my sake and yet you did so anyway. And, I probably would not have admitted this before but… you all were right, I did need this. So thank you, again."

The four can't help but let their smiles grow into huge grins, all of them seem mighty proud of what they've accomplished. Green taps his finger on the table, signalling that he wasn't done yet.

"I was interrupted last night, but I meant what I offered."

Pearl sat straight, an expression on his face that showed he remembered. The others did not share this same look, so Sapphire tilted her head. "What do you mean? What'd ya offer?"

"That we take a trip, all five of us together." Gold was in the process of chewing a rather large piece of his steak whilst Green spoke and as he did, began started slowly choking on it, trying hard and failing at keeping his cool. Green continued to speak but started trailing off when he noticed his junior. "We could go to one of the regions after league season and then we could… Gold are you alright?"

The Johtoan began to cough, slapping his chest to try and get the food out. "N-nah, I'm great! Just.. hrrk! G-great…" Eventually Sapphire slammed her palm on his back, causing him to hairball the food out like an Espeon.

Pearl pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering to himself almost disappointingly. Black looked between his three seniors, clearing his throat and turning to Green with a half-smile now, the grin from earlier no longer there.

"So, uh, an outing! That's fun, and super great. You uh… you were thinking sometime after the Indigo league yeah?"

Green's lips formed a thin line. "Yes, I did."

"Great! Totally cool, Green. But like, don't you think that's a little too soon? You know it's league season like maybe you could chill at home for a while and then we could, uh… go out later."

"When do you suggest we leave, then?" Black opened his mouth, but he seemed to go blank, as if his Musharna had latched herself at the back of his head and began clearing it of his thoughts. There was a long pause but neither of the remaining three seemed to want to break it.

Black soon enough closed his mouth and gave him a sheepish look. "Uh… maybe in about a few more weeks… or like a month or two…"

At this point Black's voice started going quiet, which was uncharacteristic for the boy. Green looked over at their expressions, their mannerisms, the sudden change of mood from excited to solemn was the same as it were the night he first mentioned a trip together. Green wasn't one to jump to hasty conclusions, so he didn't think anything of it the first time, and he couldn't follow up with the events that transpired immediately after, but there was definitely something wrong.

He looked at Gold, who was anxiously drinking water. He looked at Pearl, who's hand covered half his face and mouth, awaiting for any reaction. He looked at Sapphire, who just sat there quietly, refusing to look him in the eye. He looked at Black, who was mumbling at this point, practically sweating bullets.

He leaned back on his chair, his arms folded, a knot in his chest and the bubbling feeling back in his stomach.

"What are you four not telling me?"

Tension filled the room as the words were uttered, a seriousness in his voice the juniors haven't heard in a while. Green waited patiently for someone to speak and when no one did, he chose to look at the only female dex holder at the table.

She didn't look at him just yet, but she did glance upwards to Black and Pearl, who sat in front of her and gave her resigned nods and sighs. Sapphire finally looked him in the eye, her face simply apologetic.

"We… can't go on a trip with you, Green."

"Why is that?"

"Because," the knot grows tighter and he can't stop the emotion that breaks the calm demeanor on his face, "we're all going home tomorrow."


End file.
